Norway: Gassco Exports 97.3 bln cm of Gas to Europe in 2010

Operator Gassco transported 97.3 billion standard cubic metres (scm) of Norwegian gas to receiving terminals elsewhere in Europe during 2010, 700 000 scm more than the year before.

This volume was carried by pipeline from fields on Norway’s continental shelf to facilities in Germany, Belgium, France and the UK.

“It confirms that Norwegian gas still occupies a very strong position in an increasingly demanding European market,” observes Gassco chief executive Brian Bjordal.

The company’s statistics at 1 January 2011 also show that 1.7 billion scm of gas was delivered for consumption in Norway during the year, up by 300 000 scm from 2009.

At the same time, the volume delivered for injection in Norwegian offshore fields declined from 1.8 billion in 2009 to 1.3 billion.

Gassco’s goal is to operate the integrated transport system for Norwegian gas with the highest possible regularity, and this averaged 98.8 per cent for 2010.

More that half of all the gas exported in the transport network passes through the processing plants at Kårstø north of Stavanger and Kollsnes near Bergen.

“These two units had shutdowns for planned maintenance and upgrading during 2010, while both also experienced technical operating challenges,” reports Mr Bjordal. “Taken together, these factors meant that regularity was slightly lower than we’ve been able to report over the previous few years.”

A new daily record of 360.8 million scm was set for Norwegian gas deliveries on 3 January 2011. The previous top figure was 355.4 million scm on 15 January 2010.

“This confirms that we’re able to deliver at a very high rate,” Mr Bjordal notes.

Norwegian gas meets almost 20 per cent of overall EU consumption, but accounts for a larger share of national usage in major consumer countries such as Germany and the UK.

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Source: Gassco, January 12, 2011;